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The Handmaiden 2016

Original was uploaded on 2023-10-23

The Handmaiden (Korean: 아가씨; RR: Agassi; lit. '”Lady”‘) is a 2016 South Korean psychological thriller film directed by Park Chan-wook and starring Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri, Ha Jung-woo and Cho Jin-woong. It is inspired by the 2002 novel Fingersmith by Welsh writer Sarah Waters, with the setting changed from Victorian era Britain to Korea under Japanese colonial rule.
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In Japanese-occupied Korea, a con man operating under the sobriquet of “Count Fujiwara” plans to seduce a Japanese heiress named Lady Hideko, then marry her and commit her to an asylum to steal her inheritance. He hires a pickpocket named Sook-hee to become Hideko’s maid and encourage Hideko to marry him.

Hideko lives with her Uncle Kouzuki, a Korean man who helped the Japanese take over his country in exchange for a gold mine. Kouzuki then uses this wealth to feed his obsession with rare books, selling forgeries to accumulate further money and books. Sook-hee’s main job is to help Hideko prepare to read for Kouzuki’s guests. Returning frustrated from a reading, Hideko demands Sook-hee sleep next to her. The two end up making love, under the pretext of preparing Hideko for her married life with the Count. Sook-hee begins expressing reluctance about the plan, but when Hideko herself suggests she loves someone other than the Count, Sook-hee insists on the marriage. Hideko slaps her and violently throws her out of the room.

When Kouzuki leaves on business for a week, Hideko and Fujiwara elope. After cashing out Hideko’s inheritance, it is revealed that Hideko’s naïveté was part of the con. She and Fujiwara double-crossed Sook-hee and convinced the asylum that she was the “Countess” to have her committed in Hideko’s stead.